Anticoagulation in acute coronary syndrome-state of the art

Early intravenous anticoagulation is the corner stone treatment of patients admitted with an acute coronary syndrome: it antagonizes the ongoing coronary thrombosis and facilitates the percutaneous coronary intervention, hence a reduction of mortality and acute stent thrombosis. Unfractionated heparin, enoxaparin, bivalirudin and fondaparinux have been extensively studied in large randomized control trials and meta-analyses with the same objective: reducing the ischemic burden without hiking hemorrhagic events. This conundrum is evolving along the generalization of the radial-artery access, the use of potent P2Y12 and the trend towards a tailored approach regarding the ischemic and bleeding balance. In this systematic review, we aimed at presenting the evidence based data and strategies for each anticoagulant in the setting of acute coronary syndrome with and without ST-segment elevation.